Spot on Dr Mohd Hazmi...
Speaking of double standard of some people.
DR MOHD HAZMI MOHD RUSLI is a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Syariah and Law, Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia and a visiting professor at the School of Law, Far Eastern Federal University, Vladivostok, Russia.
When Faiz Subri was unable to speak fluent English during the Puskas award-presentation ceremony in Geneva on 10 January 2017, he was lambasted by a Malaysiakini contributor, Terence Netto in his piece entitled ‘If only Faiz could speak’. It was not surprising that some netizens agreed with Netto’s contention. For this group of Malaysians, English is seen as the benchmark of intelligence.
Ironically, when Tony Fernandes, the founder of AirAsia, clearly pronounced to the world that he does not speak Malay, nothing was said against him despite the fact that Malay (Bahasa Malaysia) is the national language of Malaysia. This was reported in a Free Malaysia Today article entitled ‘No interest in being FAM president, says Tony Fernandes’ published on Sept 11, 2016.
In addition, the Member of Parliament (MP) of Kuching, YB Chong Chieng Jen, refused to speak Bahasa Malaysia during the debate on the 2016 Supply Bill at committee level for the Prime Minister’s Department in November 2015. Even if he did speak Bahasa Malaysia, he may not converse entirely fluently - up to the standards required of a Malaysian MP.
It is not absolutely surprising that there are still members of state legislative assemblies out there who could not speak fluent Bahasa Malaysia - despite 60 years of Malaysian nationhood.
In contrast, across the Johor Causeway, the Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong, made a point to deliver his annual National Day Rally speech in Malay every year. He speaks better Malay than some Malaysians and easily puts a lot of Malaysian MPs and assemblypersons to shame.
Having said this, where were all the adverse comments usually made against those Malaysians who are not fluent in English? Why didn’t these Malaysians who are unable to speak fluent Bahasa Malaysia get a cordial piece of lambasting as well? What is with the double standards?
Conclusion
Faiz Subri is a national athlete and English is not a requirement in his profession. He has done the country proud and his effort to speak English is praiseworthy. Many renowned world celebrities like Antonio Banderas, Celine Dion and Cristiano Ronaldo were unable to speak good English during their early years of fame. Did the people of Spain, Canada and Portugal respectively denounced them like how some Malaysians did against Faiz Subri for his English?
Despite criticism made against Malaysians, an online English news portal The Independent listed Malaysia as among the top 15 countries that speak English as a second language best. It is ironic that some Malaysians like to over-criticise, as if they are the best brains in the world.
It is also sad that Malaysians do not equally jump onto the bandwagon and react the way they should against those fellow compatriots who do not speak fluent Bahasa Malaysia.
Putting these aside, Faiz Subri is a national hero and his success should not be undermined just because of his command of the English language. English is just a language and should not in any way be used as a benchmark of human intelligence.
